HIGHER and HIGHER - Steve Harrington x Reader

xxxviii - cassette

— 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 —

WE ALL sit together on the couch as Max writes at the table.

"I know you guys are staring at me." Max says.

"What, sorry?" Steve says.

He starts throwing a ball up and catching it and I play with my fingers. Lucas and Dustin also try to entertain themselves as to draw attention away from Max.

"You said you needed something?" Lucas asks.

"Just hanging out." Steve continues.

I sigh at them and look back up at Max.

"How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know." Max says, then walks over to our group.

I smile at her and she purses her lips. I look over at the boys and notice they are trying not to look at Max. I nudge Steve's arm and he stops throwing his ball.

"You can look at me now." Max says.

"Thank you. Sorry." Lucas says.

"Sorry." Steve and Dustin also say.

Max sighs, then holds out envelopes towards us.

"For you." She says, handing one to Dustin.

"For you." She says, handing one to me.

"For you." She says, handing one to Steve.

"And, um, you." She says, handing another to Lucas.

We all stay silent and I look down at the envelope that has my name written on it.

"Oh, and, um, give these to Mike, El, and Will." She says, handing more envelopes over to Lucas, "If you can ever get a hold of them again."

Steve and Dustin go to open their envelopes and Max stops them.

"What are you doing? No, don't. That's not for now. Don't open it now." She says.

"Don't... okay." Dustin says, closing the envelope, "I'm sorry. What is this?"

"It's, um... it's a fail-safe." Max says, "For after. If things don't work out."

"Hold on, Max..." I begin.

"Wait, woah. Max, things are gonna work out." Lucas says.

"No!" Max interrupts, "No, I don't need you to reassure me right now and tell me that it's all gonna work out because people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. I should've seen that one coming."

I purse my lips and look down at the envelope in my hands. Should I be writing something for everyone too?

Max sighs and walks over to the table I had built for the boys to play D&D on. She picks up a walkie and then turns back to us.

"If we go to East Hawkins, will this still reach Pennhurst?" She asks.

"Of course. Yeah." Dustin says.

"Wait, why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve asks.

Max gives him a look and I look over at him as well.

"No. No. No!" Steve protests.

Max starts to head over to Steve's car and Steve jogs behind her.

"Max, Max. Seriously." He protests, "Seriously, I'm not joking, okay. I'm not driving you anywhere."

"Steve, if you think I'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler's basement, then you're out of your mind." Max says.